A novel exopolysaccharide producing strain Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens ZW3, isolated from kefir grain Tibet, was used for the first time as an adjunct strain to compare the gumminess attribute of Mozzarella cheese with market available starter cultures and acetic acid made cheese. The results demonstrated that gumminess was more in ZW3 made cheese compared to A.C, L.C and M.C made fresh Mozzarella cheese. Similarly, ripening of cheese at 4֯C also had a positive impact on gumminess of cheese. The gumminess in ZW3 made Mozzarella cheese was increased more during ripening for a period of 4 weeks. The fermentation time taken by Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens ZW3 was also calculated for the first time during cheese preparation and it took 16 h to reach pH 5.4.

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Zisu B, Shah NP. 2005. Textural and functional changes in low-fat Mozzarella cheeses in relation to proteolysis and microstructure as inﬂuenced by the use of fat replacers, pre-acidiﬁcation and EPS starter. International Dairy Journal 15, 957-972.